7 Games to Play in the Car that Help Your Child Learn to Read

Helping your child learn to read can seem tricky, but you can help your child with the right tools. I have compiled a list of games to play in the car that helps your child learn to read. It all starts with Phonological Awareness.

Phonological Awareness and Why it is Important

Phonological awareness can be viewed the same as the foundation you lay for a house. Without the foundation, the house would fall. The same happens with phonological awareness. Children must develop phonological awareness skills to be ready to read.

Phonological awareness is any activity that is spoken language. It is the ability to hear the difference in the way words sound.

Phonological Awareness skills include:

Rhyming: identifying rhymes and producing rhymes

Alliteration

Counting syllables in words

Blending sounds

Identifying beginning

Segmenting sounds in CVC words

These skills are very important since it is the foundation that needs to be built in order to start reading. To help your child, I have compiled some easy activities and video that demonstrates how to do these activities without any materials needed! Remember, Phonological Awareness is listening to words and sounds and is completely verbal. If you need help with letter-sounds, check out my short video here on how to correctly pronounce each sound.

Building The Foundation

Rhyming

Sing rhyming songs or play which two words rhyme. Say, “Which two words rhyme? Car, star, or truck?”

Alliteration

Make up silly sentences that start with the same sounds. (Silly Sally Saw Stars)

Clapping and Counting Syllables

Clap the syllables in words: truck(1), hotdog(2), airplane(2). Then clap and count how many syllables

Hearing Beginning Sounds

Child says a word for an object, you ask for the first sound in the word. Shoe (/sh/), road (/r/)

I-Spy Sounds

I-Spy Sounds: Say I-spy a word that begins with /s/. Have your child find something that has that sound.

Slinky Words

Stretch words out saying each sound in the word like a slinky. Watch the video for a demonstration.

/b/-/a/-/ck/ (back)

/sh/-/i/-/p/, (ship)

/s/-/l/-/i/-/d/ (slide)

Nursery Rhymes

Remember reciting nursery rhymes as a child? There is a lot of important skills you learn when saying nursery rhymes. Here is a list of my favorites, but you can also purchase this CD with a book to play in the car. My children seriously love these and ask to hear them often.

Ba, Ba, Black Sheep

Jack Be Nible

Little Miss Muffet

Little Boy Blue

Hey Diddle Diddle

Many More

What age should you start doing these activities? This is for all ages, but is especially important for preschool, kindergarten, and first graders. All you need it 5-10 minutes a day in the car yo help your child build their foundation. If you have any questions about these activities, please feel free to comment below. Also, be sure to check out my video and post about easy activities to do at home that help teach your child the letters of the alphabet.

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